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REVIEW: The Company You Keep

Robert Redford directed and stars in a film centering on members of the Weather Underground 40 years after the most militant in the anti- Vietnam War movement turned to violence themselves to end the violence.

Redford stars as a single parent of a tween daughter who is living his life in obscurity as a small town lawyer til a journalist (Shia LaBeouf) outs him, sending him on the run. He links up with ex-comrades in search of one who can set him free, played by Julie Christie. The cast reads like a who’s who of legends: Susan Sarandon; Nick Nolte; Chris Cooper; Richard Jenkins; Stanley Tucci and Sam Elliott, to name a few. Terence Howard is on the other side, as an FBI’er ,with Anna Kendrick under his command.

This more a political sleeper than political thriller. More flashbacks would have made for more impact but 40 years later, these radical activists , and thus the story, have slowed down to mainstream crawl. Not to mention a major flaw I spotted in the story that made for a much-too Hollywood ending for a movie about being responsible for one’s actions.

It’s the performances that lift this often slow , yet thought-provoking film.